Rankings by major · 367 schools scored

Best colleges for economics

Every school we cover is scored 0–100 for economics. The score blends how graduates in the major do four years out against the national norm for the same major, the strength of the student body, how many undergraduate courses the department lists, and the size of the program. Small programs (under five graduates a year) are capped. 80 and up is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid.

The top economics schools: Harvard University, University of Chicago, Duke University.

Top 100 colleges for economics
Rank	School	Score (0–100)	Tier	Graduates per year in the major	Share of the class	Pay vs. national, same major	Acceptance rate
1	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	99	Standout	258	15.2%	1.88×	4%
2	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	97	Standout	622	35.6%	1.93×	4%
2	Duke University Durham, NC	97	Standout	199	10.8%	1.95×	5%
4	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	96	Standout	132	10.5%	1.94×	4%
5	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	94	Standout	256	11.8%	1.48×	11%
6	Yale University New Haven, CT	93	Standout	182	12.8%	1.73×	5%
7	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	92	Standout	255	8.9%	1.57×	5%
7	Georgetown University Washington, DC	92	Standout	184	10.3%	1.44×	13%
7	Williams College Williamstown, MA	92	Standout	134	26.1%	2.02×	9%
7	Stanford University Stanford, CA	92	Standout	112	7%	1.36×	4%
11	University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	91	Standout	608	7.6%	1.34×	16%
11	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	91	Standout	373	18.1%	1.52×	7%
11	Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA	91	Standout	76	18.1%	1.55×	7%
14	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	90	Standout	286	16.7%	1.70×	6%
14	Tufts University Medford, MA	90	Standout	217	14.7%	1.50×	11%
14	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	90	Standout	97	17.2%	1.47×	14%
17	Columbia University New York, NY	89	Standout	360	16.3%	1.67×	5%
17	Brown University Providence, RI	89	Standout	179	10.7%	1.51×	5%
17	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	89	Standout	140	9.7%	1.56×	8%
17	Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME	89	Standout	85	19.3%	1.48×	7%
17	Amherst College Amherst, MA	89	Standout	69	13.7%	1.71×	9%
22	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	88	Standout	335	14.3%	1.47×	16%
22	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	88	Standout	196	18.7%	1.85×	6%
22	Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA	88	Standout	124	37.7%	1.77×	9%
22	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	88	Standout	106	16.1%	1.49×	11%
22	Hamilton College Clinton, NY	88	Standout	97	19.7%	1.58×	14%
22	Colby College Waterville, ME	88	Standout	94	17.8%	1.25×	7%
22	Rice University Houston, TX	88	Standout	88	8.6%	1.57×	8%
22	Davidson College Davidson, NC	88	Standout	69	14.8%	–	13%
30	University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA	87	Standout	909	10.3%	1.63×	11%
30	University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	87	Standout	443	9.1%	1.26×	17%
30	Bates College Lewiston, ME	87	Standout	65	13.7%	1.34×	13%
33	Emory University Atlanta, GA	86	Standout	158	7.4%	1.35×	10%
33	United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD	86	Standout	148	13.3%	–	9%
33	Barnard College New York, NY	86	Standout	104	14.3%	1.35×	9%
36	University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	85	Standout	830	9%	1.15×	9%
36	Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MO	85	Standout	118	6.4%	1.24×	12%
36	Pomona College Claremont, CA	85	Standout	67	18.4%	1.17×	7%
36	United States Military Academy at West Point West Point, NY	85	Standout	54	5.1%	–	12%
40	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	84	Standout	157	4.2%	1.67×	9%
40	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	84	Standout	147	19.8%	1.56×	14%
40	Wesleyan University Middletown, CT	84	Standout	146	18.2%	–	16%
40	Trinity College Hartford, CT	84	Standout	93	18%	1.48×	30%
40	Occidental College Los Angeles, CA	84	Standout	73	15%	1.25×	45%
40	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY	84	Standout	59	9.1%	1.24×	19%
40	Grinnell College Grinnell, IA	84	Standout	54	13.5%	1.34×	15%
47	New York University New York, NY	83	Standout	540	7.9%	1.41×	9%
47	University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	83	Standout	492	11%	1.34×	17%
47	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	83	Standout	67	15.1%	1.40×	14%
47	Haverford College Haverford, PA	83	Standout	35	11.5%	1.36×	12%
51	Lafayette College Easton, PA	82	Standout	100	14.4%	1.36×	31%
51	Carleton College Northfield, MN	82	Standout	37	7.7%	1.05×	20%
53	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	81	Standout	139	7.3%	1.11×	48%
53	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA	81	Standout	130	17.2%	1.43×	18%
53	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	81	Standout	122	7.7%	1.28×	34%
53	University of Richmond Richmond, VA	81	Standout	55	7.2%	1.22×	22%
57	University of Maryland, College Park College Park, MD	80	Standout	682	8.1%	1.12×	45%
57	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	80	Standout	121	13.7%	1.31×	29%
57	Connecticut College New London, CT	80	Standout	75	17.8%	1.30×	37%
57	United States Air Force Academy Colorado Springs, CO	80	Standout	36	3.5%	–	14%
61	University of Delaware Newark, DE	79	Strong	244	5.6%	1.15×	71%
61	Northeastern University Boston, MA	79	Strong	169	3.8%	1.23×	5%
61	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH	79	Strong	85	6.6%	1.39×	35%
61	Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO	79	Strong	84	16.9%	1.49×	18%
61	Denison University Granville, OH	79	Strong	78	14.4%	1.18×	17%
61	Trinity University San Antonio, TX	79	Strong	38	6.5%	–	26%
67	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	78	Strong	141	16.5%	1.16×	40%
67	Wake Forest University Winston Salem, NC	78	Strong	110	8.5%	1.19×	22%
67	Union College Schenectady, NY	78	Strong	66	13.5%	1.21×	44%
67	Smith College Northampton, MA	78	Strong	45	7.6%	1.07×	21%
71	University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	77	Strong	381	5%	1.02×	80%
71	Boston University Boston, MA	77	Strong	307	6.5%	1.17×	13%
71	The University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX	77	Strong	294	2.8%	1.08×	27%
71	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	77	Strong	178	3.3%	1.14×	10%
71	Oberlin College Oberlin, OH	77	Strong	58	8.9%	1.05×	34%
71	Hillsdale College Hillsdale, MI	77	Strong	37	11.6%	–	21%
71	Scripps College Claremont, CA	77	Strong	24	10.6%	–	38%
78	University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI	76	Strong	587	7.9%	1.03×	45%
78	University of Washington Seattle, WA	76	Strong	287	3.3%	1.06×	39%
78	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	76	Strong	104	5.4%	1.32×	42%
78	Kenyon College Gambier, OH	76	Strong	61	13.3%	1.26×	31%
78	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	76	Strong	55	3.4%	1.75×	11%
78	Franklin & Marshall College Lancaster, PA	76	Strong	41	7.5%	1.09×	28%
78	Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA	76	Strong	26	4.5%	–	36%
85	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA	75	Strong	115	5.5%	0.97×	14%
85	George Washington University Washington, DC	75	Strong	112	3.8%	1.20×	47%
85	American University Washington, DC	75	Strong	71	4%	1.03×	62%
85	Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY	75	Strong	51	11%	1.35×	64%
85	Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY	75	Strong	36	6.3%	–	24%
90	University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	74	Strong	696	11%	1.19×	38%
90	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	74	Strong	390	7.2%	0.99×	54%
90	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	74	Strong	199	5.8%	1.01×	46%
93	University of Denver Denver, CO	73	Strong	75	5.6%	1.03×	85%
93	Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA	73	Strong	56	8.8%	1.14×	40%
93	Dickinson College Carlisle, PA	73	Strong	38	7.5%	0.95×	42%
93	Reed College Portland, OR	73	Strong	16	5.4%	1.12×	29%
97	University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA	72	Strong	364	4.1%	1.06×	29%
97	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	72	Strong	335	6.1%	1.02×	87%
97	Villanova University Villanova, PA	72	Strong	131	7.4%	1.21×	28%
97	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	72	Strong	77	5.6%	1.47×	48%

267 more schools are on the full economics ranking.

How this ranking works

Updated October 13, 2026. Sources: early-career pay for graduates of each program, by field of study (College Scorecard), graduates per year in the major (IPEDS), undergraduate courses listed in each department's current catalog, and the student body's test scores. Inputs that are missing for a school are dropped and the rest reweighted; programs with fewer than five graduates a year are capped at 30. Scores are relative to the other schools covered, from 0 to 100.

To cite: prefrosh.ai, "Best colleges for economics," updated October 13, 2026, https://prefrosh.ai/majors/economics. For a specific student's chances at these schools, use Chance me, which reads odds from the student's own high school's admissions chart.

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Best colleges for economics

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